MISSION  STUDY 
CLASS  METHOD 


DOROTHEA  PAY 


MISSION  STUDY 
CLASS  METHOD 


BY 

DOROTHEA  DAY 


NEW  YORK 

STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT 


Copyright,  1909,  by 
Student  Volunteer  Movement 
for  Foreign  Missions 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD  1 


I  -THE  LEADER’S  IDEAL 

N  the  strenuous  life  of  to-day  aimless  work  is  an 
anachronism.  And  however  much  we  may  decry 
the  utilitarian  spirit  that  asks  at  every  turn,  “Of 
what  use  is  it?”  yet  the  spirit  is  of  unquestioned 
value  if  it  makes  one  unwilling  to  start  upon  an  enterprise  the 
end  and  aim  of  which  is  wrapped  in  obscurity.  Furthermore, 
though  this  spirit  may  be  trying  in  its  seeming  commercialism, 
yet,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  it  may  in  truth  actually  produce 
ideals — definite  conceptions  of  the  “whither”  and  “how”  of 
an  undertaking.  If,  therefore,  this  disposition  inclines  the  mis¬ 
sion  study  class  leader  to  seek,  at  the  outset,  a  clearly  con¬ 
ceived  purpose  and  ideal,  it  is  well;  for  a  worker  without  aim 
or  ideal  is  doomed  to  failure. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that,  as  he  considers  this  matter,  the 
memory  of  a  class  he  once  attended  may  for  a  moment  fill  his 
mind,  a  class  in  which  the  leader  eulogized  the  missionary,  or, 
with  eye  upon  the  text-book,  asked  desultory  questions,  the 
answers  to  which  the  members  who  were  not  dreaming  sought 
for  in  vain  in  the  unfamiliar  material  of  “the  lesson  for  the 
day.”  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  will  turn  from  such  recollections 


1  An  outline  of  this  pamphlet  is  given  in  “Hints  on  Mission  Study 
Class  Methods.” 


2 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


with  genuine  dissatisfaction,  and  determine  with  vigor  that  he 
will  never  be  false  to  his  office  of  leader  and  that,  fleeing  the 
temptation  to  merely  lecture  to  the  class,  he  will  lead  the  mem¬ 
bers  into  independent  study  and  thought. 

1 .  So  the  first  point  of  his  ideal  is  settled.  Co-opera¬ 
tion  must  be  the  rule.  They  must  study  before  the  class  hour 
and  think  during  the  session.  Pouring  information  into  empty 
minds,  however  receptive  they  may  be,  is  not  leading  at  all,  for 
it  produces  no  mental  activity  on  the  part  of  the  recipient. 
And,  furthermore,  a  method  which  fails  to  arouse  independent 
thinking  may  be  positively  harmful  in  its  benumbing  influence. 

2.  Yet  though  he  thus  determines  to  firmly  request,  not  to 
say  exact,  some  work  from  the  class,  he  must  clearly  foresee 
that,  unguided,  they  will  in  all  probability  waste  their  time. 
There  is  much  in  any  text-book  that  a  class  need  never  learn, 
and  there  must  be  discrimination  and  judgment  on  the  part  of 
the  leader  if  he  is  to  direct  them  into  advantageous  effort.  They 
will  probably  recount  glibly  the  pathetic  tale  on  page  50,  but 
ignore  the  crucial  facts  on  page  5  1  ;  or  some  mathematical  soul 
will  recite  a  paragraph  of  unimportant  statistics,  yet  be  dumb 
and  unintelligent  as  regards  the  salient  features  of  a  given  situ¬ 
ation.  The  leader  must  train  the  class  to  recognize  what  is 
worth  learning. 

3.  And  then,  the  essential,  once  determined,  must  be 
learned;  there  must  be  acquisition  of  knowledge.  It  should  not 
be  possible  for  the  members  to  go  from  the  class  session  to  meet 
the  skeptic’s  question:  “Well,  did  you  learn  anything  to-day?” 
with  such  an  answer  as,  “Oh,  yes;  many  things — about  the  re- 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


3 


ligion  of  China;  it  is  quite  different  from  ours  and  very  strange.' * 
Such  a  reply  reflects  great  discredit  upon  any  leader,  for  at  the 
end  of  each  class  hour  some  facts  ought  to  be  further  than  the 
“fringe"  of  consciousness,  ought  to  be  on  the  lips  as  well  as  in 
the  minds  of  the  members  of  the  class.  If  a  leader  is  to  lead 
others  to  think,  he  must  see  that  they  have  material  for  thought, 
facts.  A  medley  of  indefinite  and  incoherent  impressions  is  not 
a  thought-producing  state  of  mind,  but,  given  a  few  clear  facts, 
thought  will  follow. 

4.  Furthermore,  in  the  process  of  thought  there  must  be 
mental  assimilation.  Acquisition  is  the  necessary  preparation 
for  intelligent  consideration  on  the  part  of  the  members  of  the 
class.  They  must  be  possessed  of  facts  and  must  then  use 
these  facts  in  their  thinking  to  form  sensible  opinions  of  their 
own.  Facts  used  in  reaching  conclusions  will  have  been  men¬ 
tally  digested,  and  will  be  remembered  with  the  conclusions. 
For  instance,  when  once  a  class  has  discussed  whether  or  not 
the  belief  in  Nirvana  be  an  inspiring  belief,  those  who  took 
part  in  the  discussion  will  probably  retain  a  comparatively 
clear  conception  of  the  meaning  of  that  doctrine. 

5.  But  there  is  one  more  point  to  be  considered.  Suppose 
the  members  of  the  class  learn  and  ponder;  perchance  they  be¬ 
come  truly  intelligent  on  the  subject  of  the  course,  has  the 
leader  arrived  whither  he  set  out?  Not  unless  there  has 
been  personal  application  of  knowledge  to  life;  for  it  is  not 
mere  intelligence  or  interest,  but  a  devoted  zeal  for 
missions  on  the  part  of  the  individual  that  must  be  the  ultimate 
aim  of  a  leader.  To  the  accomplishment  of  this  end  no 


4 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


pedagogy  or  mental  gymnastics  will  suffice;  only  faithful 
prayer  and  effort,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  can 
enable  a  leader  to  lead  others  to  discover  the  parts  God  has 
for  them  in  His  service. 

Before  such  an  ideal  a  leader  may  well  pause,  not  in 
faithless  paralysis,  but  in  trustful  prayer  for  its  realization 
through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


5 


II— THE  LEADER’S  PREPARATION 

The  preparation  of  the  leader  for  the  class  session  must 
have  its  beginning  in  prayer.  He  must  be  wary  of  the  temp¬ 
tation  of  asking  God’s  blessing  on  plans  already  made  rather 
than  first  ascertaining  God’s  plans  and  making  these  his  own. 
It  is  only  when  the  leader’s  intellectual  powers,  being  God- 
given,  are  given  back  to  God  for  direction  that  he  can  afford 
to  make  his  plans. 

With  firm  trust  in  God  for  a  clear  mind  and  true  percep¬ 
tions,  the  leader  should  next  read  the  chapter  through  care¬ 
fully,  noting  its  general  aims.  He  should  read  attentively  and 
thoughtfully,  yet  not  too  slowly,  the  purpose  being  to  get  an 
impression  of  the  chapter,  as  a  whole,  its  general  substance  and 
aim.  It  may  be  well  to  jot  down,  in  reading,  the  various  topics 
treated,  in  order  the  more  readily  to  think  back  over  the  con¬ 
tents  of  the  chapter. 

The  wise  leader  will  not  dash  along  now  into  further 
reading  and  the  construction  of  plans — he  will  lay  the  book 
down  and  thinly;  for  fifteen  minutes  of  genuine  thinking  will 
usually  advance  him  further  in  his  preparation  than  two  hours 
of  impetuous,  aimless  reading.  His  thought  should  concern 
itself  with  these  three  questions:  “What  are  the  strong  points 
of  that  chapter?’’  “What  are  the  tastes  and  the  powers  of 
those  persons  in  my  class?’’  “How  can  I  best  present  those 
points  to  those  persons?’’  Very  likely  he  will  see  that  certain 
topics  in  that  chapter  are  more  appropriate  than  others  for  the 
individuals  in  his  class,  and  he  must  be  governed  in  all  his 
planning  by  those  he  is  to  lead.  The  leader’s  starting  point  is 


6 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


not  the  material,  but  the  class,  for  he  is  not  to  teach  that  lesson 
to  those  persons,  so  much  as  to  lead  those  persons  to  think  on 
that  lesson.  Hence  he  must  select  for  emphasis  and  treatment 
those  points  which,  through  his  knowledge  of  the  members  of 
his  class,  he  believes  will  be  for  them  especially  interesting  and 
thought-producing.  Thus,  for  mature  students  who  have 
studied  more  or  less  philosophy,  the  doctrinal  or  philosophical 
aspect  of  a  religion  will  probably  prove  a  more  congenial  and 
stimulating  topic  than  a  consideration  of  the  practical  fruits  of 
that  religion,  a  subject  more  suitable  for  treatment  in  a  less 
advanced  class.  Again,  the  freshman  novice  in  mission  study 
will  enjoy  a  discussion  of  strange  customs,  while  the  senior 
expert,  to  whom  these  customs  are  an  old  story,  may  prefer 
a  contemplation  of  sociological  problems.  The  class,  its  nature 
and  ability,  must  therefore  greatly  influence  the  leader’s  plans. 

When  thorough,  careful  thought  has  led  him  to  see  how 
he  will  treat  the  chapter,  then,  and  not  until  then,  is  it  time  to 
prepare  his  assignment  of  the  lesson  and  his  special  references 
for  reports.  With  these  made  he  is  ready  to  give  out  the 
lesson  to  the  class ;  and  as  this  must  be  done  a  week  in  advance, 
it  is  obvious  that  this  much  of  the  leader’s  preparation  must  be 
done  more  than  one  week  previous  to  the  lesson.  The  rest  of 
his  work  may  be  done  during  the  week  preceding  the  class  hour. 

The  next  step  should  be  downright  study,  according  to 
the  assignment  he  has  made.  He  should  study  until  he  has 
mastered  the  subject-matter  of  the  chapter  and  is  so  inde¬ 
pendent  of  the  text-book  that  he  would  not  be  in  dire  distress 
if  he  should  forget  the  book  when  he  goes  to  the  class.  This 
study  should  also  include  outside  reading  on  obscure  points 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


7 


and  the  collection  of  fuller  information  on  the  points  to  be  em¬ 
phasized.  A  little  reading  will  count  for  much  if  it  bears 
directly  upon  the  lesson,  while  the  mere  feat  of  reading  one 
book  a  week,  bearing  upon  the  course  as  a  whole,  will  not 
necessarily  qualify  the  leader  much  more  to  present  a  given 
chapter  to  his  class.  The  weekly  reading  must  be  related  to 
the  subjects  under  consideration  at  the  time;  it  is  useless  and 
foolish  to  read  pages  20-50  of  some  book  the  week  it  would 
avail  to  read  pages  100-120,  just  because  pages  20-50  come 
first  in  the  book.  The  importance  of  economy  of  time  should 
constrain  a  leader  to  make  all  his  reading  count  for  the  next 
lesson.  This  will  be  accomplished  if  it  is  done  topically,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  assignment,  with  the  central  aim  of  the  lesson 
ever  in  view. 

And,  as  he  studies  and  reads,  he  should  prepare  compre¬ 
hensive  notes  for  the  class  hour;  an  outline  of  the  topics  to  be 
considered,  in  their  best  order;  questions;  the  introduction  of 
the  reports;  in  short,  an  exact  program  for  the  entire  session. 
He  may  be  master  of  the  subject,  but  he  should  not  trust  to  that 
mastery  for  inspiration  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  but  should 
prepare  his  notes  in  such  detail  that  he  will  not  lose  a  moment 
in  confusion  or  hesitation.  His  notes  should  be  such  as  will 
enable  him  to  guide  the  class  through  the  lesson  in  an  orderly, 
thorough  and  coherent  manner. 

Finally,  upon  the  plans  made — God’s  plans  worked  out 
through  his  human  intelligence — he  should  pray  for  the  bless¬ 
ing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  the  session  may  be  for  the  class 
an  hour  of  enlightenment  and  inspiration,  and  in  an  attitude  of 
prayer  should  go  up  to  the  class  session. 


8 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


III — LESSON- ASSIGNMENTS 

Possibly  there  may  be  some  persons  who  do  not  perceive 
the  value  of  any  other  form  of  lesson  assignment  than  the  old- 
fashioned  “the  next  chapter  for  the  next  time.”  For  the  en¬ 
lightenment  of  such  let  it  be  said  that  the  raison  d'etre  of  the 
lesson  assignment  is  the  simple  fact  that  people  are  apt  to  see 
what  they  expect  to  see.  Experience  shows  that,  without  the 
assignment  as  a  pilot  through  the  study  of  a  lesson,  discrimina¬ 
tion  and  useful  acquisition  can  scarcely  be  expected. 

Essential  Features 

There  are  four  features  of  a  good  assignment  which  are 
essential. 

1 .  The  assignment  should  show  the  connection  between 
the  lesson  assigned  and  the  preceding  one.  Every  course 
of  study  is,  in  a  sense,  a  unit  and  the  student  should  be  led  to 
see  the  logical,  inherent  connection  between  the  material  already 
considered  and  the  new  material  before  him.  To  illustrate:  in 
passing  from  the  study  of  the  physical  features  of  a  country 
to  a  study  of  the  people  of  that  land  the  probable  effect  of 
that  environment  upon  the  race  and  its  development  should  be 
wisely  hinted,  and  the  interest  aroused  in  the  people  should,  in 
turn,  become  the  basis  of  a  sympathetic  consideration  of  their 
religion. 

2.  The  assignment  should  emphasize  the  aim  of  the 
lesson  and  the  main  points  to  be  studied.  Such  aim  and 
topics  will,  of  course,  be  determined  by  the  leader’s  careful 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


9 


thought  concerning  the  tastes  and  powers  of  his  class.  To  lead 
the  class  members  to  discriminate,  he  must  show  them  where 
to  omit,  where  to  skim  and  where  to  study;  he  must  give  exact 
references  and  directions.  This  plan  may  appear  to  some 
almost  puerile ;  but  it  has  often  been  found  that  minute,  detailed 
directions  are  necessary  for  profitable  study.  “Omit  that  page 
of  statistics,  read  rapidly  those  paragraphs  on  historical  facts, 
but  study  carefully  those  pages  on  present  conditions” — some 
such  preview  of  the  lesson  should  set  the  class  to  work  on  the 
right  track. 

3.  The  assignment  should  arouse  curiosity;  it  should 
put  questions  and  propound  problems.  The  questions  should 
frequently  be  hypothetical,  presupposing  a  knowledge  of  the 
material  to  be  studied,  thus  stimulating  one  to  a  search  for  facts 
for  the  hypothesis.  For  instance,  the  question,  “If  you  believed 
in  Karma  would  you  strive  to  attain  your  ideals?”  which  can¬ 
not  be  even  pondered  until  one  has  ascertained  what  Karma 
is,  might  well  be  given  to  a  class  to  induce  study  and  thought 
concerning  that  Buddhist  doctrine.  The  question,  “What  is 
the  difference  between  ancestor  worship  and  our  custom  of 
decorating  the  graves  of  the  dead?”  is  a  question  of  the  same 
nature,  requiring  for  its  consideration  some  familiarity  with  the 
meaning  of  ancestor  worship.  The  problems  presented  must 
likewise  be  such  as  require  for  solution  the  information  given 
in  the  lesson  to  be  studied,  thus  proving  an  allurement  to  the 
study  of  the  lesson. 

4.  Every  assignment  should  be  followed,  at  the  next 
session,  in  the  treatment  of  the  lesson.  If  a  leader  asks  a 


10 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


class  to  study  according  to  a  special  plan,  he  is  in  duty  bound 
so  to  conduct  the  class  hour  that  the  members  of  the  class  will 
feel  the  benefit  of  that  prescribed  study.  To  diverge  widely  in 
the  session  from  the  line  of  thought  indicated  in  the  assign¬ 
ment  is  to  discourage  the  student  from  following  an  assign¬ 
ment  the  next  time.  If  the  leader  does  not  honor  his  own  as¬ 
signment,  certainly  the  class  will  not. 

Faults 

There  are  several  faults  frequently  found  in  poor  assign¬ 
ments  against  which  the  leader  should  guard. 

1 .  He  should  avoid  being  too  general.  Such  vague 

directions  as,  “Study  the  next  chapter,  learn  the  main  points, 
watch  for  interesting  facts,  form  an  opinion  on  the  subjects 
treated,”  do  not  constitute  an  assignment. 

2.  He  must  avoid  being  too  specific.  He  is  to  sug¬ 

gest  topics,  but  should  not  give  an  outline  of  the  lesson  sub¬ 
stance.  In  studying  missionary  biography  the  topic,  “The 

call;  how  it  came,”  is  suggestive  and  stimulating;  but  stated 
thus,  “How  the  call  came  from  reading  the  life  of  Living¬ 
stone” — it  is  valueless  as  an  incentive  to  study,  for  the  ques¬ 
tion  is  answered. 

3.  He  should  not  attempt  to  cover  every  point  in  the 

lesson.  He  must  discriminate,  assigning  only  sections  and 

topics  which  he  believes  will  be  of  value  to  the  class. 

4.  He  must  never  forget  to  work  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  class.  As  he  prepares  the  assignment  he  must  prayerfully 
and  sympathetically  think  of  those  he  is  leading. 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


1  I 

Practical  Directions 

In  regard  to  the  actual  preparation  of  assignments  a  few 
practical  directions  may  be  given. 

1 .  The  leader  should  read  the  chapter  rapidly,  to  get  a 
general  view  of  it. 

2.  He  should  read  it  again,  carefully  noting  the  aim,  the 
important  points,  making  an  outline,  studying  its  natural 
divisions. 

3.  He  should  thoughtfully  determine  the  topics  to  be 
emphasized.  In  choosing  these  he  will,  as  has  been  said,  be 
governed  by  his  knowledge  of  the  class.  He  should  think  of 
the  different  members  individually,  and  should  seek  to  intro- 
duce  into  the  assignment  some  topics  or  questions  that  will  prove 
stimulating  to  certain  definite  persons  whom  he  wishes  to  reach. 
The  topics  chosen  must  also  be  clearly  related  to  the  aim  of  the 
session  and  must  be  logically  arranged  for  the  development  of 
that  aim. 

4.  He  should  carefully  prepare  questions  of  the  kind 
suggested  above,  which  will  involve  the  points  he  wishes 
to  bring  out,  and  these  questions  he  should  combine  with  a  brief 
topical  lesson  outline  as  a  final  assignment. 

Such  an  assignment,  prayerfully  and  carefully  made,  can¬ 
not  fail  to  help  the  class  members  to  study,  to  think,  and,  by 
guiding  them  wisely  in  preparation,  to  bring  them  to  the  class 
hour  ready  to  contribute  as  well  as  to  receive. 


12 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


IV—QUESTIONS 

(For  a  valuable  treatment  of  this  subject,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
an  article  by  Dr.  Sailer  in  The  Inter  collegian,  January,  1906,  entitled  “The 
Framing  and  Putting  of  Questions.”) 

In  considering  the  subject  of  questioning  one  is  at  the 
heart  of  mission  study  class  method,  for  the  recitation  method 
and  the  lecture  method  have,  in  the  field  of  mission  study,  given 
place  almost  entirely  to  the  plan  of  conducting  the  class  session 
as  a  time  for  discussion  aroused  and  carried  on  by  questions. 
It  is  a  method  which  demands,  on  the  part  of  the  leader,  more 
thought  and  careful  preparation  than  either  of  the  other  two; 
for,  on  the  whole,  it  is  far  more  easy  to  listen  to  others  recite 
or  to  declare  one’s  own  knowledge  than  to  set  minds  to  think¬ 
ing,  and  so  to  guide  discussion  that  it  will  result  in  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  certain  definite  impressions  on  the  minds  of  those 
who  have  taken  part.  Yet  this  is  the  aim  of  the  question 
method.  To  the  uninitiated  onlooker  it  may  appear  a  discon¬ 
nected,  desultory  way  of  treating  the  subject;  but  that  is  be¬ 
cause  its  art  is  so  great  as  to  be  concealed.  A  question  put 
apparently  with  a  casual,  spontaneous,  it-just-occurred-to-me 
air  may  be,  in  reality,  the  result  of  hours  of  thought  and  study, 
wherein  is  to  be  found  the  explanation  of  the  wonderfully 
stimulating  effect  the  question  has  upon  the  class. 

It  is,  therefore,  of  primary  importance  that  the  mission 
study  leader  should  see  clearly,  first ,  his  ideals  in  the  matter  of 
questioning;  that  is,  what  kind  of  questions  he  should  ask; 
second,  faults  to  be  avoided ;  and  third ,  how  to  proceed  to  make 
his  questions. 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


13 


In  connection  with  the  first  of  these  topics  there  is,  in 
the  article  above  referred  to,  a  very  clear  setting  forth  of  the 
characteristics  of  good  questions.  This  aspect  of  the  subject 
will  not,  therefore,  be  discussed  here. 

Three  Classes  of  Questions 

The  author,  however,  after  explaining  the  nature  of 
good  questions,  proceeds  to  make  a  division  of  questions  into 
three  classes.  These  are  “testing”  questions,  “development” 
questions,  and  “impressive”  questions.  Now  it  is  of  vital 
importance  that  these  three  classes  of  questions  and  their  uses 
should  be  clearly  distinguished. 

A  “testing”  question  is  one  which  tests  one’s  knowledge 
of  definite  facts.  It  can  have  but  one  right  answer,  as:  “What 
is  the  population  of  China?”  “When  did  Carey  begin  his  work 
in  India?” 

A  “development”  question  is  one  which  suggests  a  certain 
line  of  thought,  propounds  some  problem,  or  demands  the  ex¬ 
pression  of  individual  opinion  in  regard  to  certain  facts  assumed 
to  be  known ;  it  probably  can  have  no  definite,  final  answer,  as : 
“How  far  has  the  Chinese  conception  of  the  five  grades  of  so¬ 
ciety  an  economic  basis?”  “Which,  according  to  your  mind, 
lives  more  consistently  with  his  religion,  the  American  Christian 
or  the  African  pagan?” 

An  “impressive”  question  is  one  which  gathers  up  the 
lines  of  previous  discussion  and  focuses  attention  on  the  con¬ 
clusion  the  discussion  should  lead  to.  It  can  usually  have  a 
definite  answer,  though  the  substance  of  the  answer  may  vary 


14 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


according  to  the  different  conclusions  reached  by  different  per¬ 
sons  from  the  discussion,  as:  “In  view  of  the  present  advance 
of  Mohammedanism  in  Africa,  how  would  you  suggest  that 
the  Church  meet  the  emergency  in  that  field?” 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  “testing”  question 
should  be  used  only  in  the  class  hour;  the  “development”  ques¬ 
tion  in  assignments  and  class-hour  discussion,  and  the  “impres¬ 
sive”  question  in  review  work  and  in  summing-up  discussion  in 
the  class  session. 

Faulty  Questions 

Though  the  ability  to  make  useful,  stimulating  questions 
can  come  only  with  practice,  certain  kinds  of  poor  questions  can 
easily  be  avoided. 

1 .  A  careful  leader  need  never  make  unintelligible  ques¬ 
tions  which  center  attention  on  their  own  complexity  rather 
than  on  the  subject  they  concern,  as:  “In  the  intermingling 
of  the  two  native  faiths  of  the  Celestial  Empire  and  its  alien 
faith  which  might  predominate  and  supplement  the  other  two?” 
The  subject  of  Buddhism’s  fate  in  China  is  with  difficulty 
discerned  in  this  confusion  of  words. 

2.  Nor  need  any  leader  waste  time  asking  questions 
whose  answers  are  comparatively  valueless,  as:  “By  what 
ship  did  Morrison  reach  China?”  “How  many  books  did 
Confucius  write?” 

3.  Questions  that  can  be  answered  by  “yes”  or  “no,” 
and  do  not,  therefore,  produce  any  discussion,  can  also  be 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


15 


avoided.  A  class  should  not  be  given  the  chance  to  settle  back 
on  a  monosyllabic  answer. 

4.  Perhaps  the  fault  hardest  to  escape,  however,  is  that 
found  in  questions  which  require  for  their  answers  knowl¬ 
edge  and  ability  beyond  that  which  the  class  has.  It  is  such 
a  temptation  to  use  a  question  that  sounds  well,  regardless  of 
its  value  to  the  class!  Yet  it  would  be  folly  to  ask  a  class  of 
freshmen  “to  state  the  doctrine  of  Nirvana  in  terms  of  modern 
psychology,’’  or  “to  discuss  the  economic  origin  of  the  caste 
system.”  It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the  worth  of  every 
question  must  be  tested  by  the  standard  of  its  ability  to  stimu¬ 
late  thought  and  produce  discussion  in  the  particular  class  for 
which  it  is  designed. 

In  preparing  questions  for  class  use  the  leader  should  pro¬ 
ceed  as  follows:  He  should  first  think  of  the  class  and  the 
points  in  the  lesson  that  are  likely  to  appeal  particularly  to  its 
members.  These  special  points  to  be  emphasized  are  the  bases 
for  his  questions.  He  thus  begins  with  his  answer  and  makes 
the  question  to  fit  it;  that  is,  he  prepares  a  question  the  answer 
to  which  will  bring  out  or  involve  the  point  he  wishes  to  empha¬ 
size.  For  instance,  he  desires  to  lay  stress  on  the  fact  that  the 
Hindus,  like  ourselves,  are  Aryans,  and  accordingly  prepares 
the  question:  “Among  which  of  the  races  of  India  would  you 
probably  feel  more  at  home,  and  why?”  Clearly,  his  point 
will  be  brought  out  in  the  answer. 

Having  made  several  such  questions  for  use  in  assign¬ 
ments  and  class  discussion,  the  leader  should  prepare  himself 
to  use  them  by  considering  the  possible  sub-questions  involved 


16 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


in  each.  He  should  be  ready  to  split  his  question  into  many 
smaller  ones,  if  the  class  need  to  be  thus  coaxed  to  express  itself ; 
for,  unless  he  does  this,  he  will  probably,  in  desperation  at  their 
silence,  weakly  succumb  and  tell  them  his  answer,  and  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  the  question — to  arouse  thought — will  be  unattained. 
It  may  be  necessary  to  ask,  “What  are  the  races  of  India?” 
“To  what  race  of  mankind  do  we  belong?”  “Whence  came 
the  early  inhabitants  of  Europe?”  and  other  questions  in 
order  to  extract  from  the  class  the  statement  that  a  common 
Aryan  inheritance  should  make  us  especially  sympathetic  with 
the  Hindu;  but  one  such  question,  properly  used  and  answered 
by  the  class,  is  worth  more  than  a  dozen  answered  by  the 
leader,  for  the  simple  reason  that  only  that  information  is  likely 
to  be  retained  which  has  involved  mental  activity  in  its  ac¬ 
quisition. 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


17 


V-REVIEWS 

The  value  of  the  review  is  based  on  two  pedagogical 
principles.  The  first  of  these  is  the  fact  that  a  person  is  able 
lo  express  that  which  he  really  knows,  and  that,  therefore,  the 
only  test  of  a  teacher’s  work  is  the  ability  of  the  class  to  give 
back  the  information  he  has  helped  them  to  acquire;  and  the 
second  is  the  rule  of  proceeding  from  the  known  to  the  unknown, 
according  to  which  the  review  of  one  lesson  should  be  the 
starting  point  of  the  next. 

Essential  Features 

A  good  review  must  have  four  characteristics : 

1 .  It  must  follow  the  line  of  previous  study  and  dis¬ 
cussion.  New  material  should  never  be  introduced.  A  review 
is  a  seeing-the-thing-again,  not  a  seeing  something  else,  or  some¬ 
thing  extra.  It  is  simply  a  glance  back  over  ground  already 
covered. 

2.  It  must  touch  upon  only  the  main  points  of  the 
material  under  review.  All  details  and  matters  of  secondary 
importance  should  be  omitted.  The  review  is  not  a  hurried 
reproduction  of  the  former  lesson,  and  unless  it  distinguishes 
clearly  between  major  and  minor  points  it  will  inevitably  be  as 
wearisome  as  the  recital  of  events  by  a  victim  of  the  psychologi¬ 
cal  habit  of  total  recall. 

3.  It  should  test  both  the  actual  knowledge  of  the 
subject  and  the  intelligent  understanding  of  it  by  the  student. 
The  review  should  reveal  to  the  leader  whether  the  class  have 


18 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


retained  in  memory  the  salient  facts  of  the  lesson,  and  also 
whether  these  facts  were  assimilated  mentally;  whether  a  cor¬ 
rect,  definite  and  valuable  impression  was  thoroughly  made  in 
the  previous  class  session. 

4.  It  should  be  brief — about  ten  minutes  in  a  session 

of  an  hour.  Brief  and  brisk  are  the  adjectives  to  be  ap¬ 
plied  to  a  review.  A  lengthy  and  desultory  repetition  of  former 

discussions  is  not  worthy  the  name  of  a  review,  and  is  usually 
a  soporific,  rather  than  a  stimulating  introduction  to  the  lesson 
of  the  day. 

Cautions 

To  the  leader  anxious  to  avoid  a  disastrous  beginning  of 
the  class  session,  a  few  cautions  in  regard  to  the  review  may  be 
given. 

1 .  Do  not  omit  it,  or  treat  it  as  a  bore.  Perhaps  leaders 
would  be  less  prone  to  regard  the  review  as  a  burden 
did  they  realize  that  a  dogged  use  of  it,  or  its  omission  alto¬ 
gether,  simply  casts  reflection  on  their  leadership,  since  difficulty 
with  the  review  usually  arises  from  the  impressions  of  the  last 
session  being  so  vague  and  meagre  as  to  make  a  review  almost 
impossible. 

2.  Do  not  attempt  to  cover  all  the  ground  of  the  last 
class  hour.  To  do  so  is  a  temptation,  because,  when  the 
points  of  the  previous  lesson  have  been  chosen  with  great  care 
on  the  leader’s  part,  they  all  seem  to  him  of  great  and  equal 
importance,  and  for  his  own  satisfaction  he  would  like  to  make 
sure  that  the  class  has  grasped  them  all.  He  must  always 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


19 


remember  that  the  true  review  is  not  a  reproduction  on  a  small 
scale  of  the  previous  session. 

3.  Do  not  adapt  it  to  the  person  who  missed  the  last 
lesson.  A  leader  is  sorely  tempted  to  do  this  when  he 
sees  the  uninterested  expression  of  those  to  whom  the  review 
is  unintelligible.  If,  however,  for  the  sake  of  gaining  their  at¬ 
tention,  he  says  to  such,  “Last  week,  you  see,  we  talked  about 
so-and-so,”  he  will  almost  certainly  lose  the  attention  of  those 
who,  having  been  present,  have  heard  the  full  discussion  of  the 
lesson  and  are  not  eager  to  hear  a  summary  of  stale  news  given 
to  their  less  faithful  classmates.  To  adapt  the  review  to  the 
former  absentee  is  to  make  it  worthless  to  those  who  were 
present,  for  a  good  review  tests  the  knowledge  of  the  class  by 
questions  based  on  facts  assumed  to  have  been  learned  in  the 
preceding  lesson.  Furthermore,  the  giving  of  a  summary  of  the 
previous  lesson  each  week  makes  absence  less  objectionable,  for 
a  class  session  missed  seems  no  great  loss  if  the  leader  gives  the 
gist  of  the  last  lesson  each  time  before  proceeding  further.  It 
is  better  that  the  absentees  should  suffer  for  their  absence,  and, 
during  the  review,  should  be  filled  with  regret  over  their  irre¬ 
parable  loss  and  their  consequent  ignorance  of  the  matter  in 
hand. 

4.  Do  not  be  lazy  and  mechanical,  using  exactly  the 
same  questions  asked  before.  The  interest  and  value  of  a 
question  are  gone  when  it  has  provoked  all  the  discussion  it  can 
provoke.  And  its  use  at  second-hand  results  only  in  the  repe¬ 
tition  of  previous  discussion  and  is  stale,  flat  and  unprofitable. 


20 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


Practical  Hints 

In  the  preparation  of  a  review  the  leader  should  observe 
certain  important  points. 

1 .  Determine  carefully  the  facts  of  the  last  lesson  that 
should  have  been  ineffaceably  impressed  on  the  minds  of 
the  class,  and  prepare  a  few  testing  questions  to  cover  these. 
Such  facts  as  the  population  of  a  country,  the  proportionate 
following  of  various  religions,  the  approximate  date  of  mis¬ 
sionary  beginnings,  the  strength  of  the  present  forces  in  the  field 
are  facts  that  the  class  should  glibly  give  back  to  a  leader  in  the 
review. 

2.  Think  over  the  points  which  most  interested  the  class 
and  were  most  emphasized  in  the  last  lesson  and  having  recon¬ 
sidered  the  discussion  of  the  previous  sessions,  determine  the 
points  to  be  reviewed  accordingly. 

3.  Make  new,  impressive  questions  to  cover  these 
points.  For  instance,  if,  one  week,  as  a  result  of  the 
question,  “In  what  section  of  Africa  would  you  prefer  to  live, 
and  why?”  the  great  differences  in  the  geographic  divisions  of 
the  continent  have  been  made  clear,  he  may,  the  next  week, 
use  in  the  review  the  question,  “Why  will  the  question  of  the 
influence  of  environment  be  likely  to  be  of  special  interest  in 
the  study  of  the  races  of  Africa?”  Or,  if  the  question,  “In 
what  respect  is  the  Mohammedan  idea  of  God  superior  to  the 
Hindu  conception  of  deity?”  has  emphasized  to  the  class  the 
monotheism  of  Mohammedanism,  then  this  fact  could  be 
brought  out  in  review  by  the  question,  “To  which  could  you 
most  easily  explain  the  Christian  idea  of  God,  a  Hindu  or  a 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


21 


Mohammedan,  and  why?”  Thus  fresh  questions  presenting 
old  points  from  new  angles  should  be  made  for  the  review. 

4.  He  must  decide  upon  the  transition  to  be  made  from 
the  review  to  the  lesson  of  the  day,  for  the  review  is  re¬ 
lated  to  the  future  as  truly  as  to  the  past.  One  reviews  the 
doctrines  of  a  religion  that  he  may  better  understand  the  mis¬ 
sionary  problems;  he  reviews  the  missionary  problems  that  he 
may  better  judge  of  the  adequacy  of  missionary  methods.  So 
each  lesson  should  be  linked  to  its  predecessor  and  to  its  suc¬ 
cessor;  and  the  review,  rightly  used,  is  the  means  whereby 
the  unity  of  the  whole  course  is  preserved. 


22 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


VI— REPORTS 

Although  the  report  has  established  itself  as  an  integral 
part  of  the  mission  study  class  session,  yet  it  is  frequently  so 
misused  as  to  make  the  results  of  its  use  very  unsatisfactory. 

Essential  Features 

1 .  Reports  should  have  a  definite  aim,  and  should  bear 
directly  upon  some  point  in  the  lesson.  For  example,  in 
the  study  of  a  country  there  may  be  reports  dealing  definitely 
with  such  sub-topics  as  the  healthfulness  of  the  climate  or  the 
trade  relations  of  the  country. 

2.  Reports  should  be  general,  net  detailed,  and  should 
amplify,  supplement  and  illustrate  the  lesson.  A  report 
may  amplify  the  statements  of  the  text-book  in  regard  to  an¬ 
cestor-worship  by  a  fuller  explanation  of  its  significance;  it 
may  supplement  the  meagre  historical  data  given  in  the  text¬ 
book  by  a  brief  sketch  of  the  country’s  history;  it  may  illus¬ 
trate  the  working  of  the  caste  system  by  stories  of  specific  cases. 

3.  Reports  should  be  logical  in  arrangement,  and  at 
the  end  should  give  a  summary  of  the  conclusions  reached 
and  their  bearing  upon  the  lesson.  This  is  of  the  utmost  im¬ 
portance  if  the  class  is  to  receive  a  clear  and  valuable  impres¬ 
sion  from  the  one  reading  of  the  report.  The  person  making 
the  report  is  responsible  not  merely  for  collecting  information, 
but  also  for  arranging  it  for  presentation  to  the  class.  With 
his  hearers  in  mind,  he  must  group  his  thoughts  in  a  clear, 
logical  order  and  prepare,  as  a  climax,  a  concise  statement 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


23 


of  the  conclusions  he  has  reached,  in  order  that  there  may 
be  left  on  the  hearers’  minds  the  exact  impression  he  wished  to 
convey  to  them. 

4.  Reports  should  be  brief,  and  should  be  read  or 
spoken  clearly  and  intelligently.  A  brisk,  three-minute  re¬ 
port  is  much  more  impressive  than  a  ten-minute  dissertation; 
and  only  when  the  topic  is  one  of  special  interest,  and  the  per¬ 
son  giving  the  report  an  expert,  should  it  be  longer  than  five 
minutes. 

All  of  these  features  of  a  successful  report  should  be 
carefully  impressed  by  the  leader  upon  those  to  whom  such 
assignments  have  been  given. 

Cautions 

The  disastrous  mistakes  made  in  report  work  are  not 
hard  to  discover,  and  some  definite  warnings  may  be  given. 

1 .  Never  have  reports  simply  because  it  is  the  custom 
to  have  them.  The  report  is  not  essential  to  good  class- 
work.  To  have  reports  simply  for  convention’s  sake  is  folly; 
for  a  class  may  do  excellent  work  with  the  text-book  alone  if, 
through  discussion,  its  members  thoroughly  assimilate  the  mate¬ 
rial  therein  given. 

2.  Never  introduce  a  report  before  there  has  been  created 
a  need  for  it,  or,  rather,  until  there  has  been  aroused 
a  consciousness  of  that  need  in  the  minds  of  the  class.  This 
matter  of  the  proper  method  of  introducing  reports  is  of  crucial 
importance.  If  the  leader,  with  the  desire  to  make  sure  of 
including  them  all,  calls  for  the  reports  at  the  beginning  of  the 


24 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


session,  the  class  members  frequently  do  not  really  turn  their 
attention  to  the  lesson  until  the  reports  are  over;  and  the  con¬ 
tents  of  the  reports  have,  of  course,  fallen  on  deaf  ears.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  he  waits  until  the  end  of  the  hour  to  intro¬ 
duce  them,  he  may  have  to  cut  short  the  discussion  which  is 
desirable  in  the  light  of  the  interest  that  may  have  been  aroused; 
and  the  class  will  probably  settle  back,  done  with  the  lesson 
for  the  day,  their  attention  dissipated,  and  the  hour  will  close 
with  a  wearisome  reading  of  undesired  information. 

Both  these  methods  are  wholly  bad.  When  the  class 
has  not  yet  considered  together  the  religion  of  a  country,  for 
instance,  they  will  scarcely  be  interested  in  a  comparison  of 
that  religion  with  Christianity;  neither  is  it  enlivening  to  have 
a  comparatively  interesting  discussion  of  the  opportunities  of 
medical  work  stopped  for  the  giving  of  a  report  on  educational 
work.  In  both  cases  the  report  is  isolated,  unrelated  to  the 
lesson  and  almost  certainly  burdensome.  The  leader  should 
introduce  the  report  at  the  one  point  in  the  lesson  where  it 
logically  belongs  after  he  has,  through  wise  questioning,  led 
the  class  to  feel  their  need  of  the  very  material  that  the 
report  contains.  When  the  train  of  thought  is  thus  kept  un¬ 
broken,  the  introduction  of  a  report  is  not  the  occasion  of  a 
mental  jar  and  consequent  lapse  of  interest,  but  altogether  the 
reverse. 

3.  Never  allow  a  report  to  run  overtime  or  to  continue 
a  moment  if  it  cannot  be  heard.  If  a  member  is  sure  he 
will  really  be  limited  to  five  minutes  he  will  make  a  much  more 
careful  preparation  of  his  report  than  he  will  if  he  knows  he  may 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


25 


ramble  on  indefinitely.  On  the  other  hand,  a  class  will  usually 
give  close  attention  to  a  person  speaking  under  a  time  limit. 
Furthermore,  feeble  or  unintelligible  reading  is  such  a  waste  of 
lime  and  such  a  dispiriting  influence  that  it  should  never  be 
permitted. 

4.  Do  not  leave  the  one  who  is  to  give  the  report  to 
his  own  devices,  but  indicate  to  him  the  thought  to  be  brought 
out.  Many  a  report  painstakingly  prepared  is  valueless  in  the 
class  hour  because  the  leader  did  not  give  specific  enough  direc¬ 
tions  in  his  assignment  of  the  report.  It  misses  the  point,  be¬ 
cause  the  one  who  prepared  it  never  knew  what  point  he  was 
expected  to  emphasize. 

Practical  Hints 

The  preparation  of  report  assignments  is  a  most  impor¬ 
tant  part  of  the  leader’s  work  and  certain  considerations  should 
always  be  kept  in  mind. 

1 .  He  should  determine  the  topics  of  special  interest, 
or  any  obscure  points  in  the  lesson,  on  which  reports  would  be 
of  value.  As  always  in  planning  for  the  class  session,  he  must 
be  guided  in  his  choice  of  subjects  for  reports  by  his  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  tastes  of  his  class. 

2.  He  should  find  references  where  the  desired  material 
may  be  found,  and  note  the  gist  of  it  for  his  own  reference. 

3.  He  should  hand  a  statement  to  the  person  who  takes 
the  report,  indicating  the  main  point  to  be  brought  out,  the 
exact  references,  the  time  allowed,  etc.  This  involves,  of 
course,  at  least  a  superficial  knowledge  on  the  leader’s  part  of 


26 


MISSION  STUDY  CLASS  METHOD 


the  contents  of  each  report,  which  will  enable  him  to  fill  in 
the  breach  if  the  one  who  takes  the  report  is  absent,  has  to  be 
cut  short  for  time,  or  gives  the  report  unsatisfactorily. 

4.  He  should  decide  how  the  report  shall  be  intro¬ 
duced  and  make  a  note  of  this  in  his  outline  for  the  conduct 
of  the  class  hour  at  the  point  where  it  should  naturally  be  intro¬ 
duced.  For  instance,  if  he  wishes  to  introduce  a  report  on  the 
Swadeshi  movement  in  India,  he  may  decide  to  ask  the  ques¬ 
tion:  “How  far  can  you  sympathize  with  the  cry,  ‘India  for 
the  Indians’?”  with  the  idea  of  calling  for  the  report  when  he 
has  guided  the  discussion  to  a  point  where  the  appeal  of  the 
National  party  of  India  is  clearly  felt  by  the  class.  Such 
preparation  of  the  minds  of  the  class  for  the  report  will  insure 
for  it  a  hearty  welcome  and  an  attentive  hearing. 


Copies  of  this  pamphlet  may  be  ordered  from  the 
Student  Volunteer  Movement,  No.  125  Eaft  27th 
Street,  New  York,  at  5c.  each,  40c.  per  dozen, 
$2.50  per  hundred,  express  charges  prepaid. 


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